GLENDORA >> City officials on Wednesday selected San Pablo Police Chief Lisa G. Rosales to take the reins of the Glendora Police Department as first female chief in the department’s 106-year history.

Rosales has 30 years of law enforcement experience, city officials said in a written statement. A former Glendora resident of 19 years, she served with the Pasadena Police Department from 1987 to 2014, before being selected to head the San Pablo Police Department in 2014.

Rosales will begin her duty in Glendora on Feb. 6. Capt. Joe Ward is serving as interim chief in the meantime.

Prior to her career in law enforcement, Rosales grew up in Highland Park and worked as a substitute school teacher.

“Her interest in police work was the result of two friends who in 1977 were kidnapped and murdered around her quiet hometown area. The victims were killed at the hands of the “Hillside Strangler” who terrorized the Los Angeles area in the late-1970’s with the killing of 10 women,” according to the statement.

“While in the teaching field, Rosales somehow knew she had to do more to help people and families in the community terrorized by violent crime,” the statement said. “She was hired by the Pasadena Police Department who sponsored her to attend Rio Hondo Police Academy.”

She worked in positions including patrol, detective bureau and administration as she rose through the ranks of law enforcement, officials said. The selection was made at Wednesday night’s city council meeting.

Brian Day has covered crime and breaking news for the Southern California News Group since 2007. He’s a graduate of California State University, Fullerton and Cerritos College in Norwalk. He loves dogs and has a pet German shepherd, which in turn, has a pet cat. Brian is a local news junkie, a licensed drone pilot and a part-time science geek with an unfortunate predilection for puns.